The city of Toledo was offered $2.8 million for its vacant property in South Toledo where Southwyck Shopping Center once stood, but let the deal expire, according to a purchase agreement obtained Wednesday by The Blade.

The offer, which expired at 6 p.m. Tuesday, did not list the buyer. Instead, it listed Louisville Title Agency for N.W. Ohio Inc., as trustee.

Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson repeatedly denied Wednesday that the city had been offered money for the property or that a purchase agreement was in hand. Later in the day, city spokesman Janet Schroeder complied with a public-records request and emailed a copy of the seven-page document to The Blade.

ATTACHMENT: Southwyck purchase offer

When asked about the purchase deal, Ms. Hicks-Hudson insisted that she had no knowledge about any such offer for the property. The city has attempted to get the site redeveloped from the time Southwyck closed in 2008. It was torn down the following year.

Instead, the mayor said she had renewed a marketing agreement with NAI Harmon Group for the property.

Mayor Hicks-Hudson said NAI Harmon, formerly Industrial Developers Ltd., was given 30 more days to market the city-owned property, which was a privately held major retail site and now is marked by weeds and broken asphalt.

“We have signed and extended the listing agreement for the company, the Harmon Group, to continue to work to find a buyer for the property,” she said. “We just signed it [Wednesday].”

The purchase agreement listed NAI Harmon Group of Talmadge Road as the broker for the deal with a 10 percent commission.

The document states: “Time is of the essence of this agreement.”

It was not clear why the mayor did not sign the document or disclose the $2.8 million offer to Toledo City Council. Sale of the property will require council approval.

Neither Councilman Matt Cherry, the district representative for South Toledo, nor Rob Ludeman, chairman of council’s regional growth and development committee, knew of its existence.

Mr. Cherry said he would not comment until he spoke with Mayor Hicks-Hudson.

Mr. Ludeman said the “most frequent question asked by South Toledo residents” concerns Southwyck.

He questioned if the mayor had made a counter-offer through the title company.

“That is the total lack of communication that is going on,” Mr. Ludeman said, regarding the mayor not informing council.

The city bought the former mall property in 2014 for $3.25 million when then-Mayor D. Michael Collins pushed through a 7-5 council vote.

Ms. Hicks-Hudson’s renewal of the marketing contract with NAI Harmon Group occurred less than a week after she said the city would no longer use the company to market the Southwyck site.

Ed Harmon, managing member of the firm, declined to reveal the buyer or to comment, stating he was under “strict confidentiality” requirements.

In September, 2015, Mr. Harmon said a formal plan for Southwyck was evolving and that his company wanted to turn the vacant 58.5 acres into a mix of office space, retail, “flex” buildings for high tech or distribution uses, and possibly apartments.

Just last week, the mayor and other city officials said the contract with NAI Harmon Group had expired earlier in the month and the firm was ordered to remove any signage.

Bill Burkett, Toledo’s economic development commissioner, last week also said the city would issue a new request for proposals for firms interested in marketing the property and other city-owned land that is for sale.

The city’s contract with the firm stretches back to last year.

Ms. Hicks-Hudson announced in September that the city had hired Industrial Developers Ltd. of Northwood to market the former mall site. The firm had previously been engaged by the city during the Collins administration.

The one-year contract granted the company a 7 percent sales commission for the sale of improved property and 10 percent commission for the sale of unimproved property. A 5 percent of gross rents leasing commission was also included in the agreement.

The mayor said the same terms would apply to the new 30-day contract.

Mayor Hicks-Hudson said she is confident the land would be sold this year, which is critical because Toledo’s 2016 general-fund budget depends on $2.5 million in real estate sale proceeds. Other properties include the land off Alexis Road where North Towne Square mall once stood and city-owned land in Monclova Township.

Contact Ignazio Messina at: imessina@theblade.com or 419-724-6171 or on Twitter @IgnazioMessina.

First Published May 26, 2016, 4:00 a.m.